dfine Debrief: Our Year in Review

01 Feb dfine Debrief: Our Year in Review

Can you believe we are already a month into 2017? neither can we. So much happened under our roof in 2016. As a team, we worked on projects that touched on every single one of our comprehensive brand services, from marketing + communications to corporate purchasing websites to event branding + strategy. As we reflect back on our accomplishments of the past year, we all chose are our favorite project from 2016. We are excited to see what new projects and adventures come with the New Year.

Mike Amedeo | strategic brand account manager

Favorite Project: Paulaner | Spring Premiums

“Paulaner is a German brewery, but they also distribute a few other brands such as O’Hara’s Irish Stout. For Paulaner’s field team, we produced branded ice buckets along with custom hurling sticks with the O’hara’s logo. I enjoyed this project because it was a bit of a challenge in that we had to source the hurling sticks from Ireland. Hurling is a popular sport in Ireland and we used this to embrace the Irish culture and also connect it to the O’Hara’s brand.”

“I had a lot of fun designing the logo and establishing an overall look and feel for this event. I loved how we were able to incorporate the Comcast Spotlight burst into the event logo subtly and seamlessly. The logo, branding, merchandise and gift experience all fit together perfectly with the Whistler location and planned activities to create a fun and adventurous atmosphere.”

Raeann | brand communications + design coordinator

Favorite Project: dfine Branding | Snapchat

“Video is taking over the world of social media. Facebook Live, Snapchat and Periscope were huge in 2016. dfine has integrated Snapchat into our social media strategy and it has been a fun way to show our personality and team in a new way. This year on Cinco de Mayo, a few members of the team decided participate in the Taco Bell Challenge. It seemed obvious to document the experience on our Snapchat account. Friend us: dfinebranding”

Kate | brand operations director

Favorite Project: Lightshade | Pride Fest

“I get to work with a lot of projects across the dfine teams, but this one stood out to me this year. Lightshade came to dfine looking for a low-cost giveaway item to market their dispensaries at the Denver Pride Festival. Our team saw an opportunity to come up with something fun and relevant to the event, as well as tie back to the brand messaging. The communications, merchandise and design team collaborated to come up with custom condoms that included Lightshade’s “Find the Bud for You” campaign. Lightshade and their partners had a blast handing them out at the parade and definitely created a buzz!”

Amanda | brand coordiantor

Favorite Project: Wikia-Fandom | Online Store

“My favorite part of this project has been managing the store and getting to know the employees who reach out from Wikia-Fandom. This was such a fun project for dfine to be involved with from the very beginning. We started with web design and built a completely customized online store for Wikia-Fandom. Once we finished the online portal, we then began proposing products, proofing, doing spec samples and finally, ordering the items and building the actual physical store inventory out of the dfine office. I also love when I get custom requests through the store portal for items like whisky glasses and custom sunglasses!”

Jessica | brand implementation director

Favorite Project: Unbridled Solutions | Noodles & Company Summit 2016

“This was my favorite because it was a huge team effort. There were a lot of moving parts and it allowed dfine to show off many of our capabilities. To see everything come together was so awesome! We were able to put together an on-site pop-up shop experience. We came up with the concept of a farmer’s market to support the theme of nourish and inspire. I always enjoy being able to use our creativity and show off what really makes dfine special.”

“This was my favorite project because I was heavily involved in all aspects of the event from pre-trip preparation to the event reconciliation. We had a very close relationship with our direct client as well as the end user client. I enjoyed learning more about the areas of a program that I was previously not familiar with. I was able to not only help with the merchandise and décor, but also as the big picture of the program and how we can translate that to upcoming years. I love working on this event year after year and seeing how it evolves and how we can continually make it unforgettable for attendees. Overall this was such a great project to be involved with, and it’s always fun working with both Andavo and Comcast Media 360.”

“This was my favorite project due to the complexity of its confirmation kits. It increased the level of planning needed to make it successful. We had 6 different types of kits that we needed to assemble for winners, managers and sponsors. There were 145 Winners, 61 managers and 28 sponsors that all received different personalized items. The process of quality checking, box build and assembly was quite the challenge.”

Kelly | brand coordinator

Favorite Project: Unbridled Solutions | Noodles & Company Summit 2016

“This was one of my first projects with dfine Branding, and this event was an amazing introduction into the branding world. I was able to see first-hand the amount of detail and production that goes into an event. I learned about budgeting, planning, organizing and client relationships. Being involved with this project from beginning to end inspired my passion for branding and merchandising. I can’t wait to continue to learn and grow as I experience more events in the future.”

Candace | vp of brand operations + accounting

Favorite Project: dfine Branding | Operations Management

“The project that stands out most to me is an internal operations accomplishment. Working with the dfine operations team to implement procedures for programs like Teamwork, Office Management and Quickbooks Management has been the most rewarding project for me. This project encompassed every service that dfine offers. I feel that we identified and introduced guidelines for every team that will help the staff better manage their projects. I look forward to 2017 and continuing to build on this foundation.”

Matt | creative partner + brand art director

Favorite Project: M.W. Reynolds | Brand Refresh

“We were tasked with refreshing a brand that had 10 years of history, but was moving to a new location with much more visibility and needed to target a wider demographic. We wanted to create a brand that didn’t alienate the existing customer base, while also attracting a new customer base that expects a high level of quality and sophistication. We modified the typography and layout of the logo. We also created some supporting logo elements including a monogram, which served as a foundation for the refresh. We then extended the brand with high quality black and white photos used in collateral and environmental branding pieces to showcase the lifestyles of an M.W. Reynolds customer. We were able to be involved with the brand through many different deliverables, which is always exciting and allows us to ensure a cohesive brand identity.”

“For the National Sales meeting we provided full-spectrum event branding. dfine was responsible for creating all of the branding from start to finish. I loved to see how many ways we could implement the brand we created for them at this event. A major aspect of this event was the production concept development. It was amazing to see it transform from our design team’s initial schematic to the live result.”